The engine might be missing the clear sunny German air ?

If its valves and heads then I have some going cheap that just need a little tweaking !

 

A little t-cut and they'll look good as new.

Always happy to help another yellow buggy...

Some more pictures from IBW. I got these from Roisin's phone.

Arran
After your damp drive home in the UK well worth checking the float chamber for water. Just top off, soak out everything in there until dry and to back on may do the trick. Symptoms are the same as I got when I drove in a monsoon

Quote from: Doon L001 on June 17, 2017, 03:24:55 PM
Arran
After your damp drive home in the UK well worth checking the float chamber for water. Just top off, soak out everything in there until dry and to back on may do the trick. Symptoms are the same as I got when I drove in a monsoon

Will give it a ago if it keeps on happening. Not something id of thought of as my air cleaners are suspended above the engine out the way of most water but that was some hell of a storm to go through!!! They could well have soooked in water and its messed up the fuel sitting in the carbs.

I sorted the alternator etc today. Started up and sounded pretty pants but not as bad as it was.

So i nuked the carbs down the intakes with carb cleaner and after a cuppa tea seems to be ok. A good few revs and let it idle away for 15mins looks like its done the trick.

Its not 100% mind you so I may have to take the carbs out to give em a good clean juat encase any water did get sooked in.

So.... to do list is......

Oil change and tappets as its hit 3500 miles since i done em last. Might check the front hub bearings too.

Theeeeen address the clutch. I bought little wire u clamps so hopefully that will sort my clutch adjustment as i think the cable is slipping out the empi style nut adjuster.

That should last me until I start back at uni and i get the steering sorted off at Mike Stewarts Performance Engineering. Great lad this neck of the woods for old school stuff. Always got racing escorts and god knows what in his sheds.

Roisin surprised me with some VW Action tickets, and we had to go! Weather watching said it was an OK to go in the buggy

Was a long drive to Santa Pod but it was an incredible weekend! Lots to see and do. Great to catch up with RoadRunner @ the FibreFab display and Oojimaflip and his lot who were camping as well.
We also got to meet some other lads who had buggies and I'd never seen them before. All in all a good weekend

The buggy however seems to have taken a bit of turn for the worse however, as it developed a bit of a missfire, skipping at low speed and a very low idle.
We managed to get to our BnB Thursday night but after a good tinker around we decided to get the AA man out to have a look as well. The spark plugs were oiley, and with the help from him and the good folk on beachbuggy.info facebook group it wasn't looking great. Lots of great help again from the community and I did what I could.

The plugs were cleaned out and she ran, but not that well. It would appear something is quite seriously wrong as the compression difference is massive between 1&2 and 3&4. It would run good at wide open throttle though, which was fine as it sat good at 70mph. It just didnt like any other speed 

Anyways, I bought new plugs and leads at the show and fitted them but didn't make much of a difference. We had a look for some new cylinder heads but the ones for sale in the auto jumble didn't look that great. So just a simple service to see if that cured the problem, and with time running out we decided it would be best to chance it home and if needs be the glorious AA truck would come save us, thank god it never though we made it back home.

Today I tried to start it up but it wouldn't catch, a few coughs and splutters but no life. I've also noticed a decent sized oil patch which wasn't there before. It's coming from where the engine and gearbox meet. Which I assume is the main bearing seal going, or has gone. Another issue is I've got a whooping noise when the clutch is pressed down. That started half way down to SantaPod coming out of petrol stations etc.

Bit of a downer but not to fear, everything is fixable. Just takes time and someone to do it! I think its beyond my skill so will just have to wait and see.

I start again at University to become a Mental Health Nurse, so it looks like it might be a reasonably long hibernation for the buggy until I can save up dosh to pay for it getting sorted.

Been a blast though, so I want to get it on the road again asap!  It's not the last of the buggy for sure! I dont want to miss the MOT in February. Thats set as a loose deadline

Oil leaks

probably be the rear main leaking it can be caused by piston blow by causing excessive pressure in the case which aligns with you low compression.

Arran
spotted this in your post
"I start again at University to become a Mental Health Nurse" all I can say is that your skills should help you cope with buggy ownership and could well come in useful with us lot - or are you maybe using us as a case study for your dissertation?

Bummer with the buggy but as you say most everything is fixable, good luck mate
Dave

Quote from: snoopy on September 05, 2017, 08:41:32 PM
probably be the rear main leaking it can be caused by piston blow by causing excessive pressure in the case which aligns with you low compression.

So would this be a big engine rebuild? if it is I will try and weight up if its worth while going 1776cc or maybe 1900cc. As if its all apart might as well be a good time to do it. Thanks for the help on facebook  Roisin has been saying there's not enough room for all the camping gear and cooking/food, it made me think about a little trailer tent or a tear drop. The extra power would probably be a help if we did go down that route.

Quote from: Doon L001 on September 05, 2017, 09:39:07 PM
Arran
spotted this in your post
"I start again at University to become a Mental Health Nurse" all I can say is that your skills should help you cope with buggy ownership and could well come in useful with us lot - or are you maybe using us as a case study for your dissertation?

Bummer with the buggy but as you say most everything is fixable, good luck mate
Dave

Hahaha yes! how did you guess? I was taking notes all the way through Stoneleigh & IBW. Should ace any dissertations now

I've been a Health Care Assistant for 10 years, so I decided to take the plunge. I did get a Engineering degree, specifically in Renewable Energy but I couldn't get a job. Age old "can't give you a job because you lack experience" Can't get experience without a job..... Was very tough to deal with after everything that happened in 2015. All the stress of that, dissertations exams and endless job interviews plus my Grandfather and Uncle on the same family side passed away all in close succession that time.

So I drew a line under that and I'm going with nursing. I come from a long line of nurses so maybe I should of done it ages ago

Yeah bit gutted about the buggy but I'd never really touched the engine. Only the carbs and the tappets so tbh it might have never been opened up since the 70s. 

Arran the site is used to help folk and keep buggies on the road so we can have great times away with like minded folk enjoying our buggies.

Engine wise making the top half better and back to full power will speed the demise of the bottom end so a complete rebuild is best.  1776 with a stroker crank will rev higher you could go up to 2.4 with a blower of some sort just depends on how deep your pockets are.

 

Always on a budget so wont be going mad. As much as id like too!

Good luck with the Uni`   Don`t give "running on a budget" a second thought.  I have been doing that since I passed my driving test back in 1970 and still can only afford a daily runner that is dated 2003. In fact it`s the oldest car in the work car park. 

Quote from: Paul1953 on September 06, 2017, 10:08:32 AM
Good luck with the Uni`   Don`t give "running on a budget" a second thought.  I have been doing that since I passed my driving test back in 1970 and still can only afford a daily runner that is dated 2003. In fact it`s the oldest car in the work car park. 

Yeap like that here too! Everyone on the street has a car thats 4 years old at the most. Then my "ancient" tractor like 05 mondeo.

It should see me through uni then i think its an electric car for me. Dont do the miles anymore to justify a diesel. The Vw Buzz camper is due out 2020 so juat in time for me finishing.


Compiling a list of what i think i need for the buggy. Since its engine rebuild id be best doing everything i want at once.

Rebuilt engine. 1641 or maybe 1776. Not sure

Replace steering rubber to Universal Joints. As its a funky angle.

Add a brace onto steering colum to help cut vibrations and make dash rock solid.

New clutch & cable. Maybe release bearings as its whooping.

New fuel tank (again) but modified to make maximum fuel capacity.
The outlet is not at the bottom and sender guage needs sorted to read properly. Not say empty after 10 miles!

Id like new lights too as the reflector material in the Cibies is all coming loose. That can wait though. I got mooneye themed headlight covers to hide em mean time.